The most rewarding career path may not be choosing between a permanent and a locum tenens job; it may be combining both. Many physicians and advanced practitioners use locum tenens assignments to increase their income, expand their clinical experience, and gain greater control over how they practice, all while helping communities facing physician and APP shortages maintain access to care.
What Are the Benefits of Working Both Permanent and Locum Tenens Jobs?
Physicians and advanced practitioners who combine permanent and locum tenens jobs can expand their earning potential, gain experience in new clinical environments, and build a broader professional network. Beyond the personal benefits, locum tenens clinicians play an important role in helping hospitals and healthcare organizations maintain coverage during ongoing physician shortages, ensuring patients continue to receive timely and quality care. For many, this approach offers the best of both worlds: the stability and continuity of a permanent position paired with the flexibility, variety, and autonomy of locum tenens jobs. Some clinicians even discover that they enjoy the locum lifestyle so much that it becomes a pathway to a full-time locum tenens career.
Four Benefits of Working in Both Locum Tenens and Permanent Positions
1. Earn Supplemental Income
Saving for a down payment on a new home? Aiming to pay off your student loans faster? Whatever your financial goals may be, working a locum tenens job alongside your permanent job can significantly boost your income and help you achieve your goals sooner. With the freedom to build a schedule tailored to your financial needs, you can work as much or as little as you want. Best of all, you have full control over the locum tenens jobs you choose, giving you the flexibility to accept locum jobs that align personally with your lifestyle, preferences, and long-term plans.
2. Explore New Practice Settings & Grow Your Clinical Skill Sets
Working locum tenens jobs allows you to broaden your clinical expertise beyond the scope of your permanent position. Whether you're covering shifts at a large urban hospital or a small community clinic, you will gain exposure to diverse patient populations across a range of practice environments. You may also encounter advanced equipment or perform specific procedures that are unavailable at your permanent facility. While locum tenens jobs offer opportunities to acquire new skills, your permanent position enables you to develop a deeper understanding of your healthcare system. Together, permanent and locum tenens jobs help you build a more comprehensive skill set, making you a more versatile, well-rounded physician or advanced practitioner.
3. Make a Broader Impact While Advancing Your Career
Working locum tenens jobs in addition to your permanent role empowers you to expand your reach and help communities facing physician and advanced practitioner shortages—on your terms. Nearly 90% of healthcare facilities onboard locum tenens physicians each year to help overcome physician and APP coverage gaps and ensure quality care is delivered to their communities. By stepping in where care is needed most, you help ensure that patients receive uninterrupted care while also offering valuable support to facilities under strain. Whether supporting an understaffed hospital or filling in during a physician's or advanced practitioner's vacation, your expertise brings relief and stability. It is a fulfilling way not only to make a difference but also to stay connected to diverse clinical environments and continue advancing your career alongside your permanent position.
4. Expand Your Professional Network
Balancing locum tenens jobs with a permanent position creates opportunities to connect and collaborate with other healthcare professionals across various regions and diverse clinical environments. While locum tenens jobs introduce you to new colleagues with fresh perspectives, your permanent position enables you to foster lasting relationships with other physicians or advanced practitioners in your community. Expanding your professional network through both permanent and locum tenens jobs enriches your expertise and opens doors to opportunities that contribute to your long-term growth.
Find Locum Tenens Jobs That Fit Your Permanent Schedule
Working locum tenens alongside a permanent position can create new opportunities for professional growth, greater financial flexibility, and continued career development. Whether you want to strengthen your clinical skills, supplement your income, or build new professional relationships, combining both work models can help you make the most of your medical career.
Partnering with a reputable locum tenens agency like Medicus Healthcare Solutions can make it easier to balance both roles. We do not simply match you with any locum tenens job. We take the time to understand your career goals, scheduling needs, and preferences, helping ensure each opportunity aligns with your professional vision.
Medicus also handles the logistics, including licensing, credentialing, scheduling, and travel, while providing continuous support throughout your assignments. This simplifies the process and gives you the freedom to focus on what you do best: delivering exceptional patient care.
Interested in working locum tenens alongside your permanent role with Medicus? Complete the short form below to connect with a Medicus recruiter.
Frequently Asked Questions About Working Locum Tenens Alongside a Permanent Role
Can Physicians and Advanced Practitioners Work Locum Tenens Jobs While Maintaining a Permanent Position?
Yes, many physicians or advanced practitioners take on locum tenens jobs while maintaining a permanent position, whether that be during scheduled time off, weekends, or even between shifts.
Can Locum Tenens Experience Help Advance a Medical Career?
Yes, locum tenens jobs can help advance your medical career by exposing you to new clinical environments, patient populations, equipment, and procedures. Combining those experiences with the knowledge gained in your permanent position can help you become a more versatile and well-rounded physician or advanced practitioner.
How Do I Balance a Permanent Position Alongside Locum Tenens Jobs?
Partnering with a reputable locum tenens agency like Medicus can help you find opportunities that fit your needs and availability. To balance both roles successfully, plan assignments around your existing schedule and communicate clearly with your employers about your professional commitments.
How Often Can I Work Locum Tenens While Maintaining a Permanent Position?
The frequency depends on your availability, permanent work schedule, and professional commitments. Some physicians and advanced practitioners accept occasional weekend or vacation coverage, while others work recurring shifts or short-term locum tenens jobs throughout the year.
Can Part-Time Locum Tenens Work Lead to a Full-Time Locum Tenens Career?
Yes, some physicians and advanced practitioners begin by accepting locum tenens jobs alongside a permanent position before transitioning to locum tenens full-time. Working both can provide an opportunity to experience the locum tenens lifestyle before making a longer-term career decision.
